Even as a fan I can tell when the movie's pandering gets in the way of the more important stuff. Reunion scene aside, which was a lot of fun, there's a few cameos too many from old characters and bigger celebrities that feel too wink-wink. There's also a subplot that comes out of nowhere and has no purpose within the movie's story apart from being pure, blatant sequel setup. This comes at the expense of the mystery's conclusion, which falls…

This is really frustrating, as I loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy like most and even like The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey a good deal even with its problems. Here's the thing; as over-extended as Unexpected Journey was, it had an arc that was followed through on (the Bilbo/Thorin tension) to create a satisfying self-contained film despite being an early part of a larger story, just like Fellowship and Two Towers did the same. Desolation of Smaug has no…

A movie that is truly in a realm of it's own. Part dark comedy, brawler, social commentary, buddy flick, and even psychological horror. And then the twist ending causes you to see the entire movie in a new light.